________________
Seeing the eggs they thought that it would be nice if they took the eggs home and got them hatched by their best hens and get two fine pea-chicks for their entertainment when the eggs hatched. They could also get the chicks trained and play wagers with them when they grew into fine and fully trained peacocks, they thought.
Accordingly, they called their servants and asked them to take an egg each to their respective homes and put them for hatching under the best hens in their respective poultry farms. The servants did as they were bid and took away an egg each and put it with the hens.
Having enjoyed the outing to their hearts' content, the merchants' sons also returned home and resumed their respective businesses.
The Doubting Son Of Sagardatta -
After the night's rest when merchant Sagardatt's son woke up in the morning, he thought of the peahen's egg and went to the poultry farm to have a look at it. He looked at the big and beautiful egg with admiration and started contemplating the gains he could get from the egg in due course. However, he was soon beset by doubt and thought what if the egg did not hatch at all. He picked it up caressed and shook it to check if the egg was still alive. He did so each time he visited the poultry farm. By his meddlesome activities the egg became bad and the foetus died inside. The egg never hatched. Sagardatt's son became hopeless and cursed his fate.
The Trusting Son Of Jinadatta –
Jinadatta's son, too, went to the poultry farm and looked at the peahen's egg with admiration but he was fully assured that the egg would hatch with time and yield a beautiful peachick. He, therefore, left it alone untouched and untampered. When the time was ripe the egg hatched and a beautiful peachick came out of it. As the chick grew the merchant's son sent his servants to
ANDAK THE LEGEND OF THE EGGS: 315
